Tinubu to get dams integrity test report December

T The technical committee reassessing the integrity of Alau Dam in Borno State and other dams nationwide will present its findings to President Bola Tinubu in December, The PUNCH learnt.

The report will include detailed designs and recommendations for the overall reconstruction of the 38-year-old dam for future use.

“In the next month, that report will be ready,” the Minister of Water Resources and Sanitation, Prof Joseph Utsev, told our correspondent in an interview on Sunday.

At the 17th Federal Executive Council meeting in Abuja on September 23, 2024, the Federal Government established a technical committee to reassess the integrity of Alau Dam in Borno State and other similar structures nationwide.

Utsev, who briefed journalists after the meeting, said the directive followed extensive discussions on flooding across the country with emphasis on Maiduguri.

Announcing the new task, the minister said, “Today, the Federal Executive Council has constituted the committee to examine not only the Alau Dam but also other dams in the country, reassess them and make recommendations that will solve the challenge of flooding and also make use of the available dams.”

He did not state the amount earmarked for the exercise or the timeframe the committee was given to conclude its assignment.

Earlier that month, Maiduguri was inundated with floods as deteriorated portions of the Alau Dam were overridden by heavy rains.

The rapid-moving water affected more than 23,000 households and ravaged major city locations, including the palace of the Shehu of Borno, Umar Ibn Garbai El-Kanemi; the state secretariat, post office, cemetery, and the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital, among others.

The President was also in Maiduguri to assess flood-devastated communities.

As of October 31, 2024, floods have killed 321 persons, injured 20,845 and displaced 1,374,557 people in 217 local government areas across 34 states.

About 250,800 hectares of cultivated farmlands were also destroyed or affected by the rapid floods in 2024.

Speaking to our correspondent on Sunday, Utsev said, “As I’m talking to you now, there is a team assessing [dams in] the South-West Zone.

“There’s another team assessing [dams in] the North West Zone. So, that is ongoing. By the end of the day, we are coming up with recommendations regarding what needs to be done on the already existing dams. Probably in the next month, that report will be ready.”


Utsev added that the committee got a renewed charge from the National Economic Council, which held its 144th meeting at the Aso Rock Villa, Abuja, on Thursday.

Governor Charles Soludo of Anambra State, who briefed journalists on flooding, said the council emphasised the need for an annual de-silting programme for waterways to reduce future flood risks.

Utsev further explained that “The recommendation was that there should be an inclusion of desilting of rivers. It was not for dam construction and dam rehabilitation.

“We have dams in the country. We still need new dams; for example, the Dasin Hausa dam, which should come up in Adamawa State, can help curb the menace of flooding along the Benue axis, the water from Lagdo Dam.

“So the [NEC’s] recommendation was, in addition to what we are doing, that some major rivers like River Benue, Niger and others in the country should also be de-silted.”

Other members of the committee included the ministers of Finance, Works, Housing and Urban Development, representatives from the Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning, the Office of the National Security Adviser, and the Minister of Information.